Before answering this question I wanted to look up the internet's definition of Sovereignty. It isn't a word that I regularly use. So, in my response to this question of the week I will go with the definition of Sovereignty as "Complete independence and self-government".
Or, as I would call it: "self sufficiency" and I am going to specifically use my own life as an example, rather than what sovereignty can or should look like for anyone else. Because - spoiler alert - the path the sovereignty is going to look different for everyone.
A little about me - if you don't already know - I was originally born & raised in a a semi-rural suburb in the United States ... and have long since abandoned so much of that life. From a very young age I started to day dream and create my own worlds. I never played cops & robbers or princess & prince. My friends and I created our own fairy tales where we were magicians, witches, mystical creatures who wielded powers of their own rather than followed the rules of leaders and law-enforcers.
And now, I see how playing those games, and having the space to dream about a different reality molded me into who I am today. If hadn't had the capacity to dream as a child I don't know if I would have had to opportunity to leave the dominant paradigm. Not that there is anything wrong with following in my parent's footsteps or doing what was expected of me ... it just wasn't what made me happy.
Nor, I dare say, would it have been the best thing for the world.
Now. I live the life that I dreamed of as a child and teen. My guy & I are caretakers of forested land, we are building our (humble) dream house out of mud, and for the most part are rulers of our own lives.
It sounds like a dream but, there are hard parts too. And to me the hard parts are what truly answer this question more than the sunshine & daisies. Don't get me wrong there is a LOT of sunshine, and in spring I can be seen collecting handfuls of daisies.
... and also ...
There is winter, where we rely on firewood to heat our house. Firewood that we must collect ourselves or else be cold. Also, my hands, perpetually covered in tiny cuts with dirt under my nails that never seems to go away. There are all my failed attempts at growing vegetables. There is also the graveyard of failed business ideas that preceded finally finding a business that works for me and generates sales.
There are hours & hours spent creating content to promote my business, some of which doesn't generate any sales at all. There are conflicts with neighbors over silly things. There are all the times that friend say they want to help but never follow through. There is the constant judgement from judgmental family members and friends from my past.
And then, once in a while, someone says how my life (and aspects I share here on Hive) inspire them, and even motivate them to grow some microgreens, create a zine, or use herbs as medicine. And that is the fuel to my fire!
Because while some people are judgmental, and even jealous, a lot of people want to tread off the well-worn path and forge a life where they are free, where they make the rules, where they truly feel Sovereignty. They just don't know how ... that is until they see someone else do it.
And that is how my path was forged. Examples here & there of people living off the grid completely, or even just growing a thriving garden in the middle of the city. I truly wouldn't be able to live a life of freedom if I hadn't seen it done before.
So, what does sovereignty actually look like?
I can't say how it will look for you. That is something you must discover for yourself.
